9. Change your work environment from time to time, we all need need scenery — go to a completely different part of town, or outside.

10. Spend several time blocks during your day with your phone off and unavailable. You’ll start to cultivate a rare and powerful focus.

Focus, focus, focus. There is no shortage of dreamers out there, but in a world of endless noise —focus becomes your competitive advantage.

11. There’s some stuff in your business or life you simply hate doing. Delegate cleaning your place, scheduling appointments or anything that crushes your energy.

Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. Delegate the non-essential, and protect your most valuable resource liike your life depends on it.

Because it does.

12. Affirmations are largely ineffective — if you want to believe something, write it down 500 times.

I do this exercise at least once a week. If you follow me on social media, there is no doubt you have seen this.

13. Be honest with yourself — and don’t believe your excuses. Give yourself permission to tell yourself what you really want out of this life.

Do you buy your own bullshit? I don’t, and it’s why I not only surround myself with real friends (not enablers) but practice radical honesty with myself.

I encourage you to do the same.

14. Don’t buy anyone’s version of success — or else you’ll chase something that you never wanted, which is a sinking feeling.

Spend time defining and re-fining your definition of success —and ensure it’s based on what you really want.

For example, cars do absolutely nothing for me. I will never own a fleet of sports cars, because they don’t move the needle for me.

15. Add playing your favorite song to your morning routine. Rock out for a moment, and bonus points for air guitar.

Have more fun —be willing to look dumb, and feel alive while doing so.

16. Read ten pages every single morning. If you don’t touch a book the rest of the day, you’ve got 18 books read for the year and are in the 2%.

Ten pages. You have the time, and you know it.

This simple trick can lead you to read 15-20 books a year —enough to start to become an expert and thought leader in your field, or on your path to personal mastery.

17. Question everything and allow space for a new perspective, but don’t be a cynic. Cynics don’t allow space, they’ve already decided to see the worst…don’t be this person.

There’s a razor’s edge between these two —but you can feel a cynics energy from a mile away.

Be willing to question everything, but for the right reasons.

18. Listen to the hits of wisdom you get every single day — the trip, the business idea, the book…and execute like your hair’s on fire or else you’ll forget.

Your intuition is one of the most powerful sources of wisdom you’ll ever find. Learn to trust it, honor it and listen to it —even if it doesn’t make sense.

Especially if it doesn’t make sense.

19. Spend time learning something you’re terrible at every week. Guitar, salsa dancing, boxing, sharing a message on video…embrace being a beginner.

I love this one. I love being new. Why? Because it’s fun, and teaches you and I countless lessons.

20. Find creative ways to tell the person you love how much you appreciate them. A little effort, goes a long way.

Post it notes, flowers, random gifts —these go a long way to creating a lifetime of connection.

21. You already know the answer. Stop searching for the answer in other people’s content…create 80% of the time, and consume 20% of the time.

I get it —you’re consuming my content. But the truth is, I’m here to help you share the wisdom you have, too.

22. It’s never the right time to hire a coach to help unleash the most powerful version of who you are and set you on a powerful track. Instead of the vacation, invest in making your real life so awesome, it feels like one.

I believe there is no faster, more efficient and powerful way to transform our lives than to hire a coach.

Often, I find myself in conversations with people who want to launch a platform, and yet aren’t doing anything. Or, they start and get excited —only for everything to fade after a few weeks.

(I call this the rollercoaster syndrome, where nothing lasts and you wind up with a bag over your head.)

Here’s what I know to be true:

If you’re reading this, you have a message. And in 2018, if you have a message, you must launch your platform.

Every minute you put it off, is a minute someone out there misses out on your magic.

The intention of this post is to give you the much needed motivation and inspiration to start, and also to get rid of all your excuses.

(I’ve been there, and mine sound great on paper. But paper doesn’t do anything.)

Here are 24 reasons why you haven’t launched your platform, and how to use them as leverage to launch now:

1. Waiting for the “right time” to start. Every day you wait is a selfish decision —because people are waiting.

Next month. Next season. Next year.

Notice a common theme here?

Here’s the truth: your life (likely) won’t get less busy, the kids won’t get easier and a bundle of cash won’t fall from the heavens.

The best time to start was yesterday. And the second best time? Right here, right now.

2. You believe clarity is a destination —instead of an evolution and daily process.

Clarity is overrated. There, I said it (life coaches are going to start coming after me in 3.7 seconds.)

While clarity can be important, too often people wait to take action under the guise of clarity.

Want to create clarity?

Ship 100 episodes, posts or pieces of content with your platform.

3. You’re doing it for the wrong reasons and haven’t developed an unshakeable why.

Oddly enough, if you start your platform with only the intention (and pressure) to monetize, you’re likely to give up long before the results pour in.

What is your why? At the Academy, we believe one message, on one day, can change one life.

4. You only create when “you feel like it” and wait for motivation to strike.

The amateur sits around waiting for a bolt of inspirational lightning to fall from the heavens, and then they start. The professional understands emotional states are fleeting: like the tides, they come and go.

Instead, learn to slice through this by taking consistent action in the face of doubt, and insecurities. This will build an unshakable level of confidence few have.

PRO TIP: Learn to love leaning in when you don’t feel like it.

5. You believe the market is saturated and everything has been said way too many times.

“Tommy, the market seems to be so saturated, and it’s too late.”

Here’s the truth: unless you’re building rocket ships to Mars, almost any market will be saturated. There’s nearly 5 billion people connected online —deal with it.

However, if you take the mindset of mastering your craft and playing the long game —you’ll notice the market isn’t saturated.

6. You aren’t willing to invest and bet on yourself over and over again.

Launching your platform and building your dream business is not about taking one leap.

It’s about having the courage and audacity to make bold decisions over and over in the face of fear, and executing anyway.

7. You’re making it about you instead of living in the hearts and minds of the people you’re looking to serve.

Your platform isn’t about you.

It’s about people out .there who are waiting to hear your message and be impacted through your craft.

Everytime you feel resistance, think about those who are struggling and could use a moment of clarity from your brand, product, service or content.

PRO TIP: Dig deep into the hearts and minds of your core audience when you’re stuck.

10. You haven’t become your number one raving fan —so how could you expect others to?

Often, I have my clients read their work and re-watch their videos or podcasts.

And it’s painful, but I have them do this because if they’re not their own number one fan, it’s impossible to expect others to be.

11. You’re trying too hard to be like someone else. The reason your message is unique is because it’s you.

Don’t be intense because Gary Vaynerchuk is.

Don’t be energetic because Tony Robbins is.

Don’t be a total nerd because Tim Ferris is.

While modeling others has value, you can often create a persona that isn’t truly who you are.

Instead, find what makes you, you…this is why people will connect with you.

12. You haven’t identified a “must have” skill — and there’s no proof you’re working on it daily.

In a world telling us to bet on our passion, skill acquisition can be forgotten. And yet, what really makes you and I valuable in the marketplace is the acquisition of skills.

What’s yours? For me, I have an umbrella of communication which is broken down into: writing, copywriting and video/speaking.

I work on these daily, and this is what separates you and I in a crowded marketplace.

13. You haven’t picked ONE place where people can find you — the pillar of your content.

I was coaching a new client who was ready to explode online, and they told me they’d set up 7 accounts.

I told them to delete six of them, and be ruthless about their focus on it.

Why?

Because there’s value in picking one platform to build your base around. For me, it was the podcast: I’m a deep, intense person and I know if someone listens to a few episodes and sticks with me —they’re my people.

PRO TIP: Your pillar platform is the one you love the most and where your audience is.

14. You’re trying to everywhere at once way too early —and then wondering why there’s no traction.

This is related to the prior one, but let’s face it: we all have limited bandwidth every day. People will see Gary Vee, or Lewis Howes and take on the pressure of being everywhere at once.

But if you’re everywhere too early, you’re nowhere.

15. You’re not taking at least three hours a week to take inventory of your business and course correct.

Hustle, grind, hustle grind.

What’s missing from this equation? Reflection, slowing down and creating space to think about problems and find creative solutions.

White space is your friend. Sometimes, too much action without purpose will leave you and I burning out and ready to quit.

16. You’re not obsessed. Interested won’t get you there —and you’ll fold quickly.

Obsessed. This is what it takes. Most people are interested, and when you’re interested —you fold when adversity strikes.

17. You have no systems, structure, processes around anything…”winging it” only lasts so long.

Winging it. This is where most entrepreneurs or solopreneurs earning less than $200K a year operate at. They usually do it all, and even bringing up the words systems and processes leaves them flustered.

In your business, find ways to automate, delegate and systemize the things you find yourself doing over and over.

There’s amazing software, freelancers, virtual assistants and much more help available to help you clear things off your plate.

18. You’re trying too hard to be someone else. There are 7 billion, unique people here. They want to hear from you — be yourself.

I love mornings.Plain and simple, it’s the time of day that excites and inspires me more than anything else.

I started to think of why, and here’s what I came up with:

Limitless possibility.

It’s a fresh slate, a new day, I understand who I was yesterday does not define who I am today and that anything can truly happen.

Over the years, I’ve truly found that there are two types of people in the world and I boil them down to two types:

Inspired vs. Non-Inspired.

It may seem simple and broad to categorize people into these two realms, but it comes down to mindset (you can also use Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset from the brilliant book “Mindset” by Carol Dweck).

It’s those who are purposely forcefully choosing to grow and those who are staying the same or allowing their environment to control them.

In this post, I‘m going to go through a morning routine to make you a badass — no matter what you do or where you want to go.

These habits and rituals have been tested time and time again and each has a purpose.

This is my routine and it doesn’t mean it’s the one for you. I encourage you to find a routine customized to you, of course, but this can be a launching off point.

As always, start simple and don’t be like Joe.

Meet Joe

Joe hears the alarm, and at first, prays it’s just a dream.

After a minute or so, he realizes it’s his alarm and moves around in bed and eventually slams the snooze button, wishing for more time in bed.

This process lasts about 30 minutes, until he finally gets up.

“Damn, he tells himself. “I have to wake up”.

He grabs his phone and starts seeing messages from the night before, quickly checks email and lets out a sign of frustration at all the things he now has to respond to.

He’s rushing, slams his foot against his night table, yells out an intense sigh and rushes to the shower in distress as another email from a boss comes back with a passive aggressive tone.

Now, this is a fictional, but typical story but there’s a lot to watch out for here.

In this simple example, Joe…

Wants to stay in bed

Has negative self-talk over waking up

Checks his phone and allows other people to impact his emotional balance to start the day

Is rushing, out of time, in a scarcity mindset, with no plan

Starts his day off on other people’s terms and with no structure or planning

From reading the above, does this sound like a way to start your day on fire?

I don’t think so.

I’ll be honest: there was a time in my life where I thought the idea of the morning ritual was awesome, but I wasn’t really doing it.

I would preach the importance of it, and then half ass the entire process.

The morning routine is a decision you make and it’s a simple one:

You put the most important person in your life (you) first, before anyone else.

Selfish? No, not really…rather, acknowledging how you create your experience directly impacts those around you.

Below I am going to detail 7 daily habits and rituals to incorporate into your daily routine that I’m currently using.

#1: Clear Your Headspace

The first step of the morning routine is to clear your mental headspace, or to simply meditate.

A lot of people have negative associations with meditation, so I simply call it “creating space”.

By creating space in the morning, you set the tone for the rest of the day and you show the world that you are in the driver’s seat of life.

Things are going to happen today.

You will get cut off.

You will bump into a stranger in a rush.

You will get into an argument with someone.

You may have a major life event happen.

Simply, you will be tested.

The power of meditation in the morning is you’re able to slow things down, start from a place of power, and decide how you choose to react.

Most people react on automatic pilot instead of choosing it.

How To Do It: Don’t complicate this. A lot of people don’t meditate because they say they don’t how. There’s no right or wrong. If you’re new, set a 5 minute alarm and just focus on breathing in and out. Do this for 30 days and then we’ll add some layers to it.

#2: Gratitude

The first thought I’ve forced myself to have every morning is simple:

Thank you.

I’m truly excited to experience another day, because nothing is guaranteed.

Expressing gratitude after meditation is a perfect chance to align yourself and remind yourself how special life is.

This can take a couple minutes and can be done even during meditation if you’d like to combine both.

Think about who or what you’re grateful for.

Who’s supported you during both great and tough times?

What events that seemed terrible at the time actually helped you tremendously?

Look around at your life right now. What do you truly appreciate?

When there’s gratitude, there’s a feeling that doesn’t allow room for negativity, judgement or creating false stories and excuses.

How To Do It: Make a list of 5–20 things you are thankful for and think broad (the Sun, the fact we’re still spinning around it, your legs) to the specific.

#3: Read A Higher Level Text

My 3rd ritual is to consume material that I consider “higher-level”.

This may be something in the spiritual realm, but doesn’t have to be.

The reason I do this is because I’m coming off meditation and gratitude, and I’m in a place of power and accepting these types of messages.

The entire goal is to consume information that allows you to think bigger than yourself … a reminder that the world is bigger than us.

This can be reading 5 pages of a book, listening to a podcast and other simple things.

I’m partial to books such as The Art Of Living by Epictetus or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius because the chapters are short but have a lot of depth.

You can grab any book off your bookshelf and focus on it intensely until you’ve got a real, actionable lesson you can apply today.

How To Do It: Keep this simple. 5 pages in a book can reveal a massive lesson for your day. There are plenty of books that have short chapters in which you can easily extract mindsets, values and action steps from.

#4: Intentional Breathing

Once I’ve done the above, I transition to a breathing exercise. I never have a set plan for this, but I do follow a couple protocols.

One is “box breathing” by Mark Divine & SEALFIT. To learn about box breathing, check this out.

Another is “priming” by Tony Robbins which is deep, fast breaths to bring tons of oxygen into the system — a wake me up of sorts after going through some slow work above….check out Tony’s priming guide here.

Breathing is one of the most powerful exercises we can master and is highly, highly, underrated.

How To Do It: There are a few ways which I’ve listed above. To make things simple, you can breath in and out 30 times (deep breath in, and exhale forcefully). This will oxygenate the body and get you primed and ready for the day.

#5: Physical Activity / Training

The next step is to get going physically.

I recommend most people train in the morning, but if you’re not, then crank out something physical and fast after breathing.

I like doing a few sets of max push-ups to get my entire body going and it only takes a couple minutes.

For those headed to the gym or for a sprint/hike, just get going and block out the time for it.

I love a combination of intense, focused strength work and high intensity conditioning to set the tone for my day and I always include portions of my workout that truly challenge me mentally and physically.

This way, I know once I’ve left the gym, that I’ve conquered my own mind and body.

Training in the morning has a host of benefits I’ve covered in the past but it usually best for people in terms of timing themselves with their work/life schedule and circadian rhythm.

When you train late in the day, there’s just a higher chance that something will come up and get in the way.

In his brilliant book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science Of Exercise, John Ratey concludes that exercise is the most powerful cognitive behavior we can ever use.

How To Do It: Just get going, get moving, do something. If it’s your off day, maybe go for a simple walk outside.

#6: Encouragement Messages

Everyone needs a push some days.

Even the most successful people who are always on fire sometimes need a push.

At this point during my morning, I’ll pick 2–4 people and send them a quick message that entails any of the following:

Encouraging them

Thanking them

Pushing them to take action, or hold them accountable for something they said

Sometimes I’ll simply scroll through my phone and pick people at random, or someone will come up during the routine above.

I even challenge myself to choose people who will never expect it.

The key with this is to expect nothing in return and do it from a truly authentic place.

How To Do It: Find 2–4 people who may need a push or some encouragement. You truly never know who needs it, so don’t over-think it. Just ship it.

#7: Tackle Highest Priorities

At this point, I’ve truly taken care of myself and I am coming from a place of power.

Now it’s time to tackle the highest priorities of the day…I truly think that there are about 3–4 priorities you can truly focus on in one day.

I’m not talking about small errands or emails…it’s 3 massive action steps that get you closer to your ultimate goals.

So, there you have it. That constitutes most of my morning routine. I’ll also usually study business, marketing or something related to my current project and / or goals.

I urge you to come up with your own routine. Maybe you want to add things relevant to you or take them away.

That’s fine…just find something that works.

5 Essentials For Your Own Routine

1. Airplane Mode. I sleep with my phone in Airplane Mode and only turn it on when I’ve accomplished something and I’m ready to check it.

2. Don’t check e-mail. I urge people not to check email before 9:00AM for many, many reasons.

3. Have a plan. Having a plan with the way you’re going to start your mornings is crucial.

4. Auto-pilot. The above will be really, really hard at first. After two weeks, less so. Give it 60 days and you’ll do the above without even thinking about it.

5. You can do it. Most people want a morning routine but use the excuse of “not having enough time” and “not being a morning person”. You can do it if you want it bad enough.

Famous Last Words

As the brilliant author Stephen Pressfield states:

Most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us.

This passage has rocked my world and is precisely why the morning routine was created — to never, ever look back and think I missed out on my potential.